


Moving In

by ArliahTheBard (arliah)



Category: Mother of the Year (Visual Novel)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, F/M, Fluff, I will die for these kids you hear me?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24657343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arliah/pseuds/ArliahTheBard
Relationships: Thomas Mendez/Main Character (Mother of the Year)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Moving In

“This place is so huge we could probably play _patintero_ in here,” exhaled Norah as she put another huge box of their belongings down in the middle of the living room. She could have sworn Thomas’ house got bigger the last time she was here. Either that or he moved some stuff around to make room for hers and Isabella’s things. Norah and Thomas had been together for over a year now and they finally decided it was time for them to move in together. Norah insisted they waited a little bit longer. She wanted to make sure Thomas wasn’t rushing into things and that he was comfortable enough to share a home together. Thomas was ready. He had been ready for a while now.

“Patin...tero?” he said.

“Oh, it’s just something we say when we’re inside a big place. _Patintero_ ’s a game we used to play a lot at my folks’ house,” explained Norah.

“Play what?” asked Luz, as if someone had said a secret code word that activated her enthusiasm. She and Isabella had been taking all of the boxes labeled ‘Isabella’ upstairs to the room they now shared.

“ _Patintero_. Oh, mom, can we play? Can we?.” Isabella rummaged through her backpack then pulled out a pen and a notebook. Her face deep in concentration, she began drawing stick figures, trying to explain the mechanics of the game to Luz. “Okay, so there are two teams: the runners and the taggers. Each runner needs to cross this big rectangle both ways without getting tagged in order to score a point. The taggers have to make sure the runners don’t score a point but they’re not allowed to step out of the lines.”

The two girls continued discussing the game while Norah and Thomas helped the movers with the few remaining boxes. Once everything was inside the house, Thomas pulled Norah down the couch beside him. They watched as Luz copied Isabella’s sideways movements, arms outstretched to each side. Thomas let out a relieved sigh as he wrapped his arm around Norah’s shoulders.

“I could get used to this,” he said before planting a kiss on top of Norah’s head. “In fact, I think I already am.”

“Hmm, I know what you mean.” Norah sank into his arms. Thomas tilted her chin up and he leaned in for a kiss.

“Okay! Let’s do this!”

The two adults jumped at the sound of Luz’s eager voice, and all of a sudden they were being dragged out of their seats.

“Do what, now?” Norah asked. She groaned at the subtle hint of pain on her lower back. They had been lifting boxes all day and she could use some rest. They all could. But the girls were already excited about the game. Too excited. She glanced at Thomas and he nodded in agreement.

“Lulu, how many candy bars did you and Isabella take from my snack stash?” he asked.

“You mean that red box inside the desk drawer in your office that you accidentally left unlocked? None.” Isabella elbowed Luz on the side and the two broke into a fit of giggles. Thomas scratched the back of his head. No use talking about it now. He knew these kids needed to burn some of this surplus of energy if they were to go to bed at a reasonable time today.

“Okay, okay,” said Norah, and the girls cheered and threw their fists in the air in excitement. “But we really do need to do this outside unless we want to break stuff in the house. Grab some chalk, Izzy.”

Out in the front yard, Norah drew a giant version of Isabella’s rectangle drawing in her notebook, divided into two sections. She didn’t want to sound like an annoying millennial but this was one of the better parts of her childhood, playing games outside the house with her cousins. After drawing on the ground, she briefly explained the rules to Thomas. Isabella grabbed her hand once she was done.

“Let’s have a practice game first. Mom and I will team up and be taggers while Luz and Dad are the runners,” said Isabella. Norah could still remember how awkward her daughter had felt the first time she called Thomas ‘Dad’.

“Would it be weird if I called him Dad, too?” she had asked her one night. Isabella had been getting along much better with Guy but Norah knew her kid had already warmed up to Thomas and he had been nothing but wonderful with her.

“Only if you’re not comfortable doing it, Izzy. It’s fine either way.”

“Mom!” Isabella’s voice pulled her back to the present. The two of them ran to their positions. Luz and Thomas stood on opposite sides of the base of the rectangle, the one Isabella was guarding. Luz feigned an attempt to cross the line, allowing Thomas to run past Isabella while she was distracted. Once Thomas reached the second line, Norah crouched slightly, arms at the ready, and the most menacing game face she could muster on.

“You’re taking this game way too seriously,” Thomas said with a grin.

“You know I always play to win, Attorney Mendez.”

“We’ll see about that.” Thomas feigned right, thinking Norah would take the bait, but before he even made it to the opening on the left, Norah tackled him to the ground. The two of them landed on the concrete with Norah on top of him.

“All right, all right. I give up.” Thomas laughed as Norah pinned him to the ground. “I rest my case. I’m no match for you.”

“Don’t you forget it.” Norah planted a kiss on his lips and he wrapped his arms around her. The warmth that enveloped her melted away all the trepidation she had about moving in together. This was right.

“Eew, get a room!” Luz said while she attempted to cover Isabella’s eyes. “There’s a kid in here!”

“Kids. Plural,” said Thomas. He helped Norah up and they straightened their clothes. “Okay, that’s enough practice. How about we play for real this time?”

“All right but this time, it’s kids versus adults,” said Isabella, linking her arm around Luz’s.

“You guys seem pretty confident, huh.” Norah ruffled Isabella’s her much to the child’s annoyance.

“Well,” said Luz, “Izzy’s smart and I’m a star goalie.” She cracked her knuckles and together, she and Isabella performed a complicated handshake. “Let’s get started. How do we decide the taggers and runners?”

“Got that covered.” Norah pulled a coin out of her pocket. “Heads means we’re taggers, tails means you are.” She tossed the coin and caught it with one hand. Tails. “What’s the prize for the winners?”

“Winning team gets to decide what’s for dinner,” said Luz. “You guys are going down!”


End file.
